Effort, Soft And Defense
November 9th, 2017
Breaks down his defense.
The Bucs defense is, to be polite, inconsistent. To be blunt, it’s rotten.
Oh, sure, the defense shows up in home games. Pretty well, actually. On the road, it is a complete and total jailbreak.
Yesterday, Bucs defensive coordinator Mike Smith was asked if his players are giving enough effort. In short, Smith said, not enough.
“Not on a consistent basis,” Smith said. ” We are not doing anything consistently. We are not calling a good game consistently. We’re not executing. We all have ownership of this – it’s across the board.
“I can tell you there’s times that I have made bad calls. There [are] times where we haven’t run to the football. There [have] been times that at the point of attack we have been soft. It’s just not good football. You guys see it. We see it. You guys are veteran people that watch football and it’s not very pretty. When it’s not pretty all of the time, it can be ugly.”
Thus far, the Bucs defense played outstanding against the Bears, OK against the Giants (Brent Grimes was spectacular that day against Odell Beckham), surprisingly strong against the Belicheats and quite well against the Stinking Panthers, all home games.
Joe won’t make you run for a bottle of TUMS by recounting the defense in road games.
It is just weird the defense doesn’t get embarrassed at home, but on road games it is just the opposite. The Bucs defense is allowing an average of 32 points a game on the road this year.
November 9th, 2017 at 5:46 am
Allowing an average of 32 points a game on the road this year? That’s beyond ugly, that’s disgusting. Looks like overall we have played tougher teams on the road this year (Vikings, Cards, Bills & Saints have a combined 21-11 record) versus here at RayJay (Bears, Giants, Pats & Panthers have a combined 16-17 record … and caught all 4 teams when they were reeling offensively). Had we played any of the road-teams here, most likely we still would’ve lost to them. Regardless, this Bucs’ team … defense AND offense … has turned in some pretty ugly performances this year.
As Smitty says, he’s made some bad calls. But what’s far more troubling is this: “There [are] times where we haven’t run to the football. There [have] been times that at the point of attack we have been soft.” People make mistakes; no problem. But lack of effort? That’s inexcusable.
November 9th, 2017 at 6:25 am
Amen about the effort, look at it miserable pass rush, pass rush is about effort and want to. You always hear about the motor on pass rushers, no one on our team has a motor. No one has the effort to fight through being blocked.
November 9th, 2017 at 6:37 am
If the coaches don’t make it why should the players? This is the same core group of guys for years. How many coaching staffs tdo they need before they realize quitting isn’t a winning formula in football….
November 9th, 2017 at 7:07 am
The Bucs D is so bad if often looks like the D is a part of the opposing O’s offense. In other terms…opposing O’s make the Bucs defense their bitch!
November 9th, 2017 at 7:17 am
As long as GMC makes another top 100 list….all is good. j/k
November 9th, 2017 at 7:50 am
If Dirk survives and Smitty is fired, do you, promote Hayes or Duffner. Or maybe hire Marvin Lewis when Cinny fires him.
November 9th, 2017 at 7:55 am
The ugly football is %99 players……they really don’t care….sure they’d rather win but not enough to win
November 9th, 2017 at 7:55 am
Play Keith Tandy instead of Conte, Ward, or Evans and they will win like they did last year.
November 9th, 2017 at 8:09 am
Hard to expect consistent effort out of a defense when it’s $15 mil a year leader is slower than a 62 year old referee with a stint in his heart chasing a screen play with 1:00 to go before half, down by 6.
How do you quit down by 6? GMC knows.
November 9th, 2017 at 8:09 am
@AlteredEgo … “The ugly football is %99 players……they really don’t care.” Amen to that. Was talking to some other Bucs fans over at the YMCA this morning, and it seems to be unanimous: Lack of effort is the most damning indictment a coach can make of his players. They may not buy into what they’re being asked to do 100%, but they danged well better give 100% in trying to make it work. I’m wondering if this is what happens when you get too many guys ‘at the end of their career’ on a team. Apparently don’t really seem to care what they’re putting on film for other teams to see when they get canned.
November 9th, 2017 at 8:13 am
Repost
LUVMYBUCS Says:
May 17th, 2016 at 6:35 am ←
Mike Smith’s – Atlanta Falcons Defense || Total Points Allowed
Under Defensive Coordinator: Brian VanGorder
• 2008 – Allowed 325 points (20.3/g), 11th
• 2009 – Allowed 325 points (20.3/g), 14th
• 2010 – Allowed 288 points (18.0/g), 5th
• 2011 – Allowed 350 points (21.9/g), 18th.
Under Defensive Coordinator: Mike Nolan
• 2012 – Allowed 299 points (18.7/g), 5th.
• 2013 – Allowed 443 points (27.7/g), 27th. ← Sub Par Defense
• 2014 – Allowed 417 points (26.1/g), 27th. ← Sub Par Defense
So went the Defense – So went the Falcons
• 2008 – 11-5-0, Finished 2nd in NFC South Division
• 2009 – 9-7-0, Finished 2nd in NFC South Division
• 2010 – 13-3-0, Finished 1st in NFC South Division
• 2011 – 10-6-0, Finished 2nd in NFC South Division
• 2012 – 13-3-0, Finished 1st in NFC South Division
• 2013 – 4-12-0, Finished 3rd in NFC South Division ← Sub Par Record
• 2014 – 6-10-0, Finished 3rd in NFC South Division ← Sub Par Record
Note: One of the Main reasons why Mike Smith was fired – was the decline of defense. Outside of that Arthur Blank – was not happy with the overall ”physicality” of the team.
Lets also not forget that Jacksonville Defense was already good –
Before Jack Del Rio arrived.
Tom Coughlin & Tom Capers had that defense beastin’
w/ guys like
• Tony Brackens
• Marcus Stroud
• John Henderson
• Kevin Hardy
• Donovin Darius
November 9th, 2017 at 8:42 am
Live look at gmc preparing for a game.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a-xWhG4UU_Y
Oldie but a goodie.
November 9th, 2017 at 8:44 am
Defense Rules…been talking about that a lot lately. I say the hell with FA. It never works out for the Bucs and for most teams in general. For the Bucs it always seems that more often than not the FA’s they bring in bring the team down at their respective positions….make the Bucs worse than they were the previous season.
Build through the draft. This team was starting have great chemistry, now BOOM add Djax, and Humpin Swaggy and the team looks like they hardly know each other anymore. Or care for that matter.
November 9th, 2017 at 8:50 am
Look at the Kamara TD. #93, #98, and RG #65 who blocks McCoy to start the play all start within arms reach of each other as they chase the play. Also notice Line Judge #9, Mark Pearlman, 62 year old schoolteacher with the stint in his heart. All 4 guys, #93, #98, #65, and LJ #9 are near the 30 yard line as they pursue the play.
#65, after blocking McCoy, chases the play and accidentally runs into Kamara on the 12 yard line.
#98, McDonald, chases the play down to the goalline, missing a tackle inside the 5.
#9, Mark Pearlman, briefly leaves the TV camera shot because, he old. But he chases the play down, and reappears in the frame as Kamara reaches the goalline, ending the play between the 5 and 10 yard line.
#93, McRuud, unblocked, quits around the 25 yard line. At the point the TV camera shot loses sight of #9, the 62 year old ref, #93 is still in the shot “chasing” the play. Then #93 disappears from view. A few seconds later, you see #9, the ref, pop back into the screen. #93 never does. Because he wasn’t chasing the play as hard as Pearlman.
Check the end zone shot from the TV broadcast that replays a minute after the live TV for confirmation #93 was never blocked, at all, on the play. He got outhustled by a 62 year old schooteacher linejudge who had a stent put in his heart in 2002.
The eye in the sky doesn’t lie!!!
November 9th, 2017 at 8:57 am
Gerald McRuud
Becareful pointung out facts sbiut cancer93 the career quitter. Joe gets butt hurt easily when you pick on one his free pass recipients
November 9th, 2017 at 9:19 am
IMO…the only game the defense actually played well in was the bears….
-we were in a dog fight with the giants who only won 1 game
-the pats were still trying to figure things out and still came up big when it was time to shine
-the panthers average 18 points a game and they scored 17 vs us…which is about their average…..
this defense has been trash all year except for the bears game….GO BUCS!!!
November 9th, 2017 at 9:22 am
We are not calling a good game consistently.
“I can tell you there’s times that I have made bad calls.
YEAH…LIKE HAVING THE CB PLAY 15 YARDS OFF!!!!
YEAH…LIKE NOT BLITZING LVD & KWON MORE!!!!
YEAH…LIKE NOT SENDING A CB OR S BLITZ!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
November 9th, 2017 at 9:56 am
McRuud, that was awesome! How can this team expect fans to pay hard-earned $$$ to watch them play when they put forth that type of weak-ass effort? Reminds me of a sign I’ve kept in my office for years: ‘Don’t expect vast results if you only put forth a half-vast effort’. That’s this year’s Bucs in a nutshell … half-vast efforts.
Constant player turnover, constant management turnover, constant coaching turnover is killing this franchise. Cleaning house at end-of-year of older FAs has little impact since many are at the end of their career anyways & have already made their $$$. Quality younger players may or may not re-sign … why would they other than for the higher $$$ we’ll have to pay? Management turnover every few years brings with it some turmoil of its’ own (scouting, personnel guys & most importantly ‘new visions of what it takes to build a winner’ from the incoming GMs). And we’ve already seen far too often what constant coaching turnover does: new ‘philosophies’ on offense, defense & STs make it hard to create & sustain team chemistry, young player development usually suffers, etc.
And yet, when too many on a team have ‘checked out’ on a coaching staff it’s really hard to argue for keeping that staff for another year for the sake of ‘continuity’. One of the JBF ‘regulars’ was commenting not too long ago about the one common denominator in all this (dating back to Raheem). Yes, GMC’s been here that long, but the REAL common denominator is ownership. Long-time owners like Robert Kraft & Jerry Jones have had some ‘bad years’ (all relative), but I see a consistency in their approach to ownership & coaching & team-building that I don’t see here.
November 9th, 2017 at 9:57 am
Gmc needs to go. Sorry fanboys. Gmc is losing got the best of him years ago
November 9th, 2017 at 10:08 am
Keith Tandy…..2016 Season…..5 Games started…..4 Interceptions…..57 Tackles……6 on team in tackles……9 & 7 Record for the Bucs
Keith Tandy…..2017 Season…….Hasn’t seen the field in favor of a Rookie, a Cry Baby Pro Bowler, and Conte……….2 & 6 Record with 8 games left…. 5 loss’s in a row………. Is the Coaching Staff stupid? or is it just me wanting answers?????
November 9th, 2017 at 10:32 am
tandy could not make another roster in the entire nfl… the dude had a good 4 game run but is not the answer. i appreciate your fanboyism it’s pretty funny…
November 9th, 2017 at 10:32 am
GMC will be trade bait if a new coach comes in here. Why is it that I feel like Clinton McDonald’s playing best in the d line in a back up role. He’s the guy that I saw brining the d line together for a pep talk during the Arizona blowout, GMC doesn’t do that he just collects a check and no leadership whatsoever, addition by subtraction. He’s a good guy but Mark my words this defense will boom once he’s gone along with Chris Conte and Ayers.
November 9th, 2017 at 10:46 am
#93 may not FLY TO THE FOOTBALL which is the #1 rule of what was once Buccaneer football, but you can rest assured if Batman was giving away autographs in the first row of the end zone he would have gotten down the field faster than the 62 year old ref with the 15 year old stent in his heart.
November 9th, 2017 at 10:51 am
tmaxcon…..Are you the Defensive Coordinator for the Bucs….Coach Smith? Performance on the field don’t lie and the 3 dudes that are playing ahead of him sure as hell aren’t the answer.
November 9th, 2017 at 11:04 am
Joe,
Should we grossly overpay DeMarcus Lawrence during the 2018 free agency period?? What do we have to loose to give him a bloated guaranteed two year salary… Cut our losses with Swaggy Baker, Ayers & Gholston
November 9th, 2017 at 11:23 am
I’m a Tandyman Bucs Fan
you must be tandy’s mother. nice to meet you. he had multiple years to prove and earn his playing time and did not do so. he had 4 good games get over it.
November 9th, 2017 at 11:38 am
Taxcon some of your post on here are pretty dumb. Like this one!! You don’t have a clue. Your evaluation of talent is about like Smiths and Koetters. That’s why your Bucs are 2 & 6. And I’m not his Mom just and old coach… Whose your Daddy? DIRK?
November 9th, 2017 at 11:58 am
If you aren’t a Bucs fan then why are you on here?
November 9th, 2017 at 12:04 pm
Not there yet- “Addition by subtraction” only works if you have talent to replace him. Unfortunately, we’ve got 3 Cheerio’s boxes and one Lucky Charms (GMC) cereal box for d-linemen.
tmax- The Lucky Charms reference was for you!!!! “Marshmellow Man”!!!
November 9th, 2017 at 12:11 pm
LOL very true bucsfanman… We would obviously draft a potential game changing d-lineman with our upcoming top 5 pick but I think it would be time to let go of at least a couple of the cheerio’s and why not open up the bank for a big time pass rusher.. You know that the “marshmellow man” isn’t going anywhere if Licht is still on board.
November 9th, 2017 at 1:13 pm
Gerald McRuud Says:
November 9th, 2017 at 8:09 am
Hard to expect consistent effort out of a defense when it’s $15 mil a year leader is slower than a 62 year old referee with a stint in his heart chasing a screen play with 1:00 to go before half, down by 6.
How do you quit down by 6? GMC knows.
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THIS is why GMC doesn’t want to stand up and be a defensive end–it would mean he’d have to get his fat ass in shape!!